Butterfly Moments

One of the most incredible feats of nature I have observed  is watching a caterpillar morph into a butterfly. My daughter loved to bring monarch caterpillars in from the outdoors, place them in a fish tank (without water of course ☺), and then we all observed the metamorphosis from worm to beautiful butterfly.

This morning during my devotional time, God gave me a "butterfly" moment. Let me explain.

The Bible is the only book that can transform you. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) God's Word is active, it pierces where no other words can. It is the hand of the Great Surgeon, giving us a new heart, with new attitudes and desires; shaping us into the image of Jesus.

Today, as I pondered the Word, I thought of the metamorphosis of the butterfly. Don't you want to fly? Not be burdened by the cares of this world....maybe you feel trapped by a job, marriage, life's circumstance, maybe even your own skin? Or life is simply boring, like a worm, who doesn't get anywhere real fast, and is subjected to ground level.......take heart, God is working.

The monarch caterpillar simply eats and eats and eats. My daughter supplied plenty of milkweed leaves for her caterpillars, it was amazing what they ate. The caterpillar was preparing for what lay ahead.

Life is a journey...on our "wormy" days, are we eating? Reading and digesting our spiritual food? God doesn't just plop what we want on our laps, he is transforming us into the image of Jesus. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Prv. 3:5-6) Even when we can only crawl, and life seems boring....we need to eat and trust....and keep moving forward.

At the appointed time, the caterpillar attaches itself to  a branch and hangs in what appears to be a "J". It will hang this way for several hours. In what then looks like a painful process (for when I observed it, that is what I thought) the caterpillar begins contorting and then his skin splits open and underneath is a chrysalis!

"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) The caterpillar waits...and God does the work. The process of transformation is never easy. There is usually pain involved. But God tells us, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) Focus your eyes upward. God is working.

 As the days pass, the chrysalis walls become thinner and you see a butterfly tightly wrapped. 

On those days when all seems a loss and you are feeling trapped remember, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6) God is changing you from the inside out. Scientists have now been able to do scans on the chrysalis and have observed how the organs change day by day until the caterpillar becomes a functioning butterfly!

When it is time for the butterfly to emerge, the chrysalis will split and the butterfly will hang for over an hour or so, flexing its wings. We once thought to help the butterfly in this process and it died. Time is needed for the wings to dry off and its systems to begin functioning in the new environment. When ready, we let the butterflies crawl onto our fingers, then took them outside and let them fly! It is a beautiful moment!

A butterfly moment is beautiful! The heart soars with joy! You feel weightless. Some are small moments and others so grand you find it hard to contain the excitement. A butterfly moment is simply grand because one persevered to get there.

But these moments are proceeded by patience, trust, and oftentimes pain. Sometimes the metamorphic process is short, other times it may be years. But it is a process, and it always involves the transforming power of  God, who comes to us through the Bible, His Holy Word.  God gives us many "metamorphic" cycles in our lives; these are the peeling off of the layers so that in the end, we are transformed into the image of His Son. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Cor. 5:17) It is not our work, it is His.  Trust the process. Jesus only wants the best for you, His love gives us more than we could ask or imagine. And when we try to do it our way, we mess things up, much like when we tried to help the butterfly get out of the chrysalis faster.

My butterfly moment? For the last several weeks, I have felt trapped. Trapped by life's circumstances. Trapped by wondering what God is trying to do. Trapped by negative news all around me. Trapped by the pain in this world. As I was reading His Word this morning...the image of a butterfly popped into my head...a weight lifted....

The ability to fly rests in Jesus: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30)  He takes our burdens and carries them. We can then fly. 

I am learning to let go of that I cannot control. Jesus let me fly this morning. :)